JEM10 Notes - 10th Anniversary JEM. Includes numbered letter of authenticity hand signed by Steve Vai. The aluminum pickguard has an engraved vine and it's JEM10 serial number. JEM10s designated for the USA have a silver tweed JEM case with outside plaque and inner silk screened protective shroud. Later numbered JEM10s going to the USA have their JEM10 plaque screwed onto the case, instead of riveted/glued on.Where Certain JEM10s Went: According to Hoshino USA distribution of certain JEM10s are as follows: Steve doesn't have JEM10TH #777. We're not sure which ones he DOES have, but he doesn't have these: #1 (is here at Hoshino USA) or #2 (at Roland/Meinl in Germany). #3, 5, 7, and 9 went for sale in the US market. #777 (unknown owner). After that, Hoshino has no further info on which # went where. JEM10 #16 was given away by Steve Vai during G3JEM90 Note - 90th Anniversary Hoshino Model. Include letter of authenticity presented in a silkscreened Ibanez folder. USA model JEM90s that came through Hoshino USA included a nice Ibanez J-Custom case. Chesbro and worldwide distributors used a standard RG case. Paint scheme based on J-Custom RG-Metal1. First JEM with the bubinga "skunk stripe" truss rod reinforcement on the neck. JEM2KDNA Note - Multicolor paint which includes Steve Vai's blood. Hand swirled finish by Darren Johansen (DMI/ATD). The paint was done in Japan, Early April, 2000. The guitars are being assembled in a custom shop of Hoshino, instead of a current JEM/UV assembly line. Rear headstock includes serial # (1-300) and three stamped Y2K logos (for the Y2K Ibanez models: DNA, CP & Benson). Guitars come with letter of authenticity and Y2K guitar bag. All USA DNA's came in a black UV1000 varient case w/ "leather" handle and purple lining. All others came with a ATA type flight case. Some comments from Darren - Well in back and the trip went well! The guitars are sweet!!! and I got to see the first two clear coated. May I say #$%# I was impressed! The custom shop is amazing and the craftsmen ship is unbelievable!!! All of the people there are so nice it would be impossible to describe in words! This project has had the royal treatment all the way and every one is better than the next!! If you have put your money down you will not be disappointed! Hope all has been well since I left and I have missed home a lot ! But the experience was wild, I cant wait to go back! The people at the custom shop as well as Ibanez are wonderful and have went way out of there way to pull this off no expense was spared on prep or execution... I was totally impressed! (Darren/ATD - 4/10/2000) Colors used for the DNA swirl - blood red, neon green, neon red, neon yellow, black, neon pink. I mixed in it [Steve's Blood] and not a shaby amount either. (Darren/ATD - 4/10/2000)DNA & Blood Content - For the record your if you own a DNA you have a good amount of the "DNA". The "blood red" paint that I mixed was mixed at a ratio of aproximately 8:1 [paint:blood] so the content is quiet high. There had to be pigment mixed into the paint to hold it onto the guitar as well as a carrier. If you purchase a canvas you get a picture of myself and someone mixing [the blood] in to the color. Also a picture of the room we did the guitars in too. The canvases also have the same content as I mixed all the DNA left into the paint when I left Japan and brought the paint back with me . I hope this clears things up for you. Darren ATD Serial Numbering by ATD: When the guitars were done they put them into boxes numbered: box 1 of 30, 2 of 30, 3 of 30 and so on with the first one 1 on the bottom 11 0n the bottom 21 on the bottom of each box. There will be some that are out of place. I pulled a few here and there for a QC check. About 30 or so maybe a little more. They went to the end and middle of the line. I pulled them throughout the run. They are if not on the number pretty darn close thoughGuitar Center LA, CA's DNA Display Guitar - I just wanted to say something about the G.C. DNA guitar [that Steve lent to Guitar Center]. That guitar is the "prototype" and only that. That guitar does not even contain the DNA. As fact has it, when Steve got it, he played it for seveal weeks and loved it. But he was bummed that it didn't have the DNA on it. He also did not [lend] the DNA [guitar to Guitar Center] till after that one was made. As I heard, he wanted a few with the DNA in them and after I was done with them Steve has recieved a few. We did a few extras over and above the 300 for Steve and replacement bodies and necks just incase one of you wild players got too crazy lol!! Also just in case there were any production problems (hey catch this body im done with the electronics) only kidding! In case of shipping problems they wanted to make sure that they had 300 to go out and one of the 300 was mine 001/300. Well thats all I know Darren A.T.D.

Large monkey grip.
Thin Wizard neck. See it on "Die to Live" video (ALS)

Large monkey grip.
Only JEM w/ all dot inlays.

ships Spring 2002.

Updated pu's, neck
joint & wood from the 777s. Vai's main axe 'Evo".

JEM7BSB Note - The guitar and rear of the neck was burnt and then stained. There is no clearcoat on the guitar so the stain can rub or scratch easily. Fretboard not scalloped on frets 21-24. The color varies from blue to green, with a varying degree of burnt wood appearance. In short, no two BSBs are alike.

JEM7DBK Note - First JEM with the Breed neck and bridge pickups. Unlike the original PAF PROs, the Breed (and Evolutions) come with a "neck" model and "bridge" model. The neck has a bubinga "skunk stripe" truss rod reinforcement. The headstock is plain black paint and does not have the "textured" finish. The neck profile is a bit thinner (front to back) than the traditional JEM neck as requested by Steve Vai. It is described as unique to the JEM but "kind of a Wizard neck at the nut but not at the 12th fret".

JEM7PBK Note - It's neck has the dimensions of the Wizard neck.

JEM7RB Note - The Root Beer model has a wide variety in color. Some are very dark, and some are much lighter.

JEM7VWH Note - First JEM with the Evolution neck & bridge (matched set) pickups. The tremolo arm itself is black (not gold) as Ibanez only makes black bars for the Edge/LoPro. Ultra-bright white done with a special paint process to eliminate "yellowing" with age. From Ibanez: The JEM7VWH "has a super thin 0.5mm basswood veneer on the top and back. We do this with all alder woods because otherwise the finish would settle into the grain and have lines like a strat does in it after a few weeks. We do this with only alder wood that has a solid or metallic color on it. Just to let you know."

VWH Vine Inlay - The VWH vine inlay is perloid (synthetic) for the large leaves and abalone for the small leaves. This offers a visual contrast in the vine, while allowing the guitar to be more affordable as the abalone is more expensive and more difficult to apply & work with.VWH Scalloping - The scalloped fretboard (frets 21-24) will cause some fading or discoloration to the small abalone inlays on fret 24. This is absolutely normal and not a blemish or defect, and is inevitable due to the scalloping of the inlay itself along with the fretbaord wood. Around 1999 Ibanez began implimenting an improved technique of scalloping the fretbaord (and inlay) so as to attempt at allowing the abalone inlay to appear more vibrant and natural.VWH Fretboard 2004 change to Rosewood - Ibanez unexpectantly, abruptly and without notice changed the VWH fretboard from ebony to rosewood in 2004 after NAMM. From the geniuses at Ibanez of Japan (paraphrased): Vai's EVO has rosewood fingerboard from the beginning. JEM7VWH is the signature model, so we changed it for matching his own JEM.

Hand painted for
Ibanez by About Time Designs. Each has a unique swirl color pattern and
scheme.

JEM77BFP Note - Features a paper print of the blue floral pattern. It's a slightly out of focus photo, laminated & bursted over.JEM77BRMR Note - Dubbed the "Bad Horsie" in Ibanez' 2005 literature, this guitar is a production version of the mirror-finish JEM Vai has been playing for a a few years now. The top is a vinyl mirror, like what is featured on the pickguards of the UV777BK and JEM7DBK.Notable differences of the production model to Vai's mirror JEM include: » Vai's has a Fernandes sustainer, the production model does not » Vai's has an LED fretboard from Martin Sims, the production model does not » Vai's guitar body was originally routed for the Edge/LoPro hence the new EdgePro will not retrofit. » Vai doesn't have to pay over $2k to get one shipped to his door ;-PJEM77FP Note - Every JEM77FP Floral Pattern made features an actual floral pattern cloth on the body front, body rear and headstock. The fabric used for the pattern is bonded to the body, painted over black on the edges and then fully clear coated. It comes in several varieties: three body, three headstock and three rear-body floral patterns exist for 27 possible combos. The actual Floral "Pattern" cloth was modeled after the actual curtains from Vai's parents home in LI, NY. His first few (pre-production prototype) Florals were said to be made with the actual curtains. To dispel a few mythsNone of the JEM77FPs sold were made with Vai's actual curtains.I REPEAT... every JEM77FP ever made has actual cloth. This writeup here on Vai.com is WRONG and the source of confusion. Kindly fix it guys :DThe Floral pattern. Well the fabric first came from a place in the USA that we tracked down from Steve's samples from his house. We purchased it in sheets that were a little bigger than a guitar body pre cut. There are three body patterns and three headstock patterns and each could be on any guitar. Then that company went out of business so we reproduced the same fabric patterns in Japan but we needed to purchase a life time supply, so they still have it and still make the FP's made for other counties, I wish they sold here (USA) but they aren't. So the answer is there are three patterns that could be on any guitar so some out there are identical - courtesy of Ibanez sources 2002JEM77FP Note - the JEM77FP was re-imported into the USA market mid-year and announced at Summer NAMM 2003 as the JEM77FP "15th Anniversary of the Floral pattern". Each FP imported is expected to have at least a Steve Vai signed cover/backplate. In Summer 2003, Hoshino USA was bringing in the last 108 JEM77FPsthen there would be a 100% discontinuation in all markets of the JEM77FP.JEM77GMC/PMC Note - Custom multicolor finish for Ibanez by About Time Designs (ATD), the painters for the JEM2KDNA (Darren Johansen, DMI). Each has a unique swirl color pattern and scheme.

Flourescent Paint (777s) - Hoshino USA had the Deglo (brand paint) in the USA as Paul Gilbert was using it. The Deglos did not really need a white base coat because they were one-shot style paint. When we sent the (LNG, etc.) samples to Japan they told us that there was some type of Radioactive material in there that made them glow and they could not do it. How true this is I am not sure but it made for a good story (editor's note that is no doubt pure BS as Ibanez is known for sourcing Japanese supplies if possible - just as they tried to do the "MKR" UV777MCs in-house instead of from ATD in the USA). Ibanez Japan asked Gen-Gen paints to do a color match and Gen-Gen came up with the White base coat and transparent over coat to simulate the same finish as Deglo, but really none of the Fluorescence we did were as bright as the real Deglo paints. After the fad passed, Gen-Gen and Deglo stopped making the Neon paints so Hoshino USA bought (similar paint) from House of Kolors to do replacement and repairs. It was good for a match but still did not glow like the Deglo. (paraphrased from Jim Donahue's - former #1 at Hoshino USA - book)​

JEM777 DY/LNG/SK Note - The original trio of JEMs were essentially the same guitar with different color paint and trim. Features the original "777" neck which was a bit fatter and more "D" shaped. Over time the same dimensions were used but the necks seemed to have an altered profile. In addition, the final hand finish of all JEM/UV necks is responsible for slight variation.

JEM777LNG Note - Each LNG was hand numbered and signed by Vai. LNGs designated for the USA were all signed on the back of the body. Many feature symbols and other drawings along with the signature. Some overseas LNGs were signed just on tremolo cover, presumably because the bodies/guitars were not available for Steve to sign in person at the time.

JEM777SK Note - These guitars were prone to fading of the shocking pink color. There was an obvious problem with some of the paint used as the fade occured from brilliant pink to a dingy orangy color or worse. It is said the fade was enhanced by exposure to light. If your SK has not faded by now, I would not worry too much about it.

JEM777VDY Note - It's neck has the dimensions of the Wizard neck.

JEM777VSK Notes - Never intended for release in the US because the pink "changed colors". AMS (a large mail order shop) bought the leftover run of these from Hoshino and sold some highly discounted in the early 90s. It's neck has the dimensions of the Wizard neck.

JEM555 Note - Ibanez' designated "JEM Jr". Prior to January, 1997 the 555s had "JEM Jr." inscripted on the headstock. These have the All-Access Neck Joint & Evolution pickups. Author's suggestion - avoid these and buy a used JEM7 series instead!While the 555 has been CANCELLED in the USA in 2000 mostly due to poor sales and horrible feedback, the 555 has been since reintroduced in many areas where JEM7s are higher priced in relative terms vs USA pricing.​

JEM/UV Guitar - Common Features

​Production Years listed: are for USA Marketplace. Often overseas (Japanese domestic market) certain models have continued production.Guitar Details

JEM Neck MeasurementsThickness:19mm at fret-1 (17mm for 7PBK, 777VDY/VSK featuring the "Wizard" neck)21mm at fret-12 (20mm for 7PBK, 777VDY/VSK featuring the "Wizard" neck)Width:43mm nut 57mm at fret-24 Universe Neck MeasurementsThickness:20mm at fret-121.5mm at fret12Width:48mm nut65mm at fret-24Body: Two-piece American Basswood (except the JEM7VWH, which is Alder). Photos indicate the JEM7DBK is made from 6-pieces.Note from Ibanez - The JEM7VWH and JEM7VSBL "has a super thin 0.5mm basswood veneer on the top and back, We do this with all alder woods because otherwise the finish would settle into the grain and have lines like a strat does in it after a few weeks. We do this with only alder wood that has a solid or metallic color on it. Just to let you know."Neck Pocket Stamp: Ibanez necks and body in the pocket are typically stamped or stickered to identify the model of the guitar body and neck.Regarding stamps in neck pocket of swirls (JEM77 PMC / JEM77GMC / many UV77MCs). I had two of them, [stamps] one with just the name and one with the "about time designs" logo. When I first started doing them I kept up with each one [guitar swirled] with a photo and a stamp. As time and production got crazy I could not disassemble all of them myself and some did not get stamped but all were photographed for a matter of copyright and history in there raw form (no clear or electronics). I am pretty sure that 80-90% were stamped though as I was doing alot of the disassembly at night after every one went home . I hope this answers some of your questions. Thanks for your interest. Darren / ATD / www.abouttimedesigns.comElectronics/WiringDiMarzio pickups in a Humbucker/Single/Humbucker configuration with 5-way switch.Neck pickup is mounted in reverse - turned 180 degrees, so that the bridge side of the humbucker is closer to the neckVolume and Tone knob - all knobs are plastic except JEM10 is metalRecessed input jack - on the body's edge below the bridge strap lock. Prevents the cord from coming out.Pickguards - some clear (BFP, FP, GMC, MC, PMC); some 3-ply colored Double locking tremolo - Floyd Rose licensed and improved. The Ibanez Edge (1987-1990) and it's predecessor the Lo-Pro Edge (1991 to present) are IMHO the finest locking tremolo ever available. Many updates of the original Floyd Rose design have been incorporated and the results are amazing. For 2003, the EdgePro (and EdgePro7) replaces the LoPro Edge on all JEM/UVs.JEM/UV Case - The JEM/UV case has a combo lock on the outside along with the words Ibanez in pink lettering. It has a large compartment on the inside. The pink lining used since '86 has been changed to burgundy for '97. The original pink-lined 777 case was a bit shorter and was soon made larger to accomidate the UV (with larger headstock).

Miscellaneous JEM NotesSerial Numbers - details about serial numbers is found here and here. Dating an axe from the heel plate is not 100% accurate, in that dates might not 100% match the real production date. For example many PMCs have 90-91 plates and UV77MCs are typically 90-91 even if they were made/sold later. So if you have a 1990 heel plate on a JEM77PMC you do not have a prototype or something special ;-)Bubinga "skunk stripe" Reinforcement - The JEM90 and JEM7DBK have JEM necks with a bubinga "skunk stripe" truss rod reinforcement. It is said that the skunk stripe eventually might appear on all JEMs. [Ibanez] doesn't care about spending more money to improve something if we can get a better result. That is why [Ibanez] added a bubinga reinforcemnet at no cost. It costs alot more [to add the bubinga stripe] but the defective production rate is almost nothing on a wizard neck.JEM DiMarzio pickups - Three DiMarzio "model" pickups have been used in JEMs:Pickup Model & Number Output Treb Mid Bass DC-Resistance The Breed Neck (DP165/DP165F) 325mv 5 7 8 10.14K The Breed Bridge (DP166/DP166F) 356mv 6 9 8 17.07K Evolution Neck (DP158/DP158F) 294mv 7 6 6 12.01K Evolution Bridge (DP159/DP159F) 404mv 6 7 7 13.84K PAF Pro (DP151/DP151F) 203mv 6 5 5 8.40KJEM Single Coil Pickup - The original "JEM Single Coil Pickup" is not available separately from Ibanez or DiMarzio. The closest (exact?) match according to DiMarzio is the HS-2 run in single coil mode. The "JEM Single Coil Pickup" has been tweaked to match the accompanying PAF Pros, Evolutions or Breeds depending on various JEM models. Scalloped Frets 21-24 - All JEMs have this feature except the JEM10, JEM90, JEM7BSB JEM7DBK and JEM555. It is said to offer more control of the strings at the upper register and allow better feel & sustain.Expanded Tonal Explaination of Scalloping:When Ibanez first made the JEM it had a standard neck joint plate. The high four frets go over the body [with no mass behind them] and when you play these notes through an amp the sustain of the [upper four] notes is alot shorter. The reason is all the area of the neck is gone it is just a fingerboard extension [see Guitar Photo Gallery Neck Details]. Billy Sheenan had done this to his basses to keep the sustain [alive for the upper frets laying] over the body, so we did it on the Jem and it made the notes ring the same as the basic neck [below fret 21]. The distance between the frets does not allow your finger in there anyway. When [Ibanez] switched to all access neck joints the scallop thing does not have any purpose anymore. The VWH [was scalloped] but this guitar was actually designed way back in 1989, the first one... had the original neck joint.Why Some JEMs are Not Scalloped:Tonally speaking, the AANJ eliminates the need for the scalloped frets 21-24. In addition to these reasons listed above, the production of the JEM neck with scalloped fretboard is very costly due to typical production line yields which result in more defects from the process. Even with Ibanez' policy of strict quality control. The problem with scalloping is [the process] screw[s] up many necks; the reason is the inlays get wacked. Even the JEM7VWH is really bad, usually they turn out black, But we did a new improvement to the VWH that is now shipping [in 1999-2000]. If we scallop the fretboard and the inlay rips out we need to refret the neck. If you ever did a refret on scallops when you pull the fret out, small chips around the scallop come with it then it needs to be sanded down, and refreted then rescalloped. Usually this means throw[ing] the neck away. The plastic screw inlayed dots on the BSB/DBKprohibit the scalloping for similar reasons - It is impossible to scallop these at the 24th fret because of the fretboard radius of 430 mm. The dots are too far out [toward the edge of the fretboard] and can't be done.Tree of Life Vine Inlay - this features a wooden (or synthetic wooden) stem with leafs made of clear plastic with colored paper applied underneath. This provides a bright color (blue, yellow or green vine for example). The JEM7VWH adds abalone inlays for the smaller leafs, using pearloid plastic for the large leafs. The JEM10 has adds abalone for it's larger and small leaves. The 555 vine stops at the 12th fret unfortunately.Disappearing Pyramid Inlay - the day-glow color inlays are made of clear plastic with colored paper applied underneath the plastic. The clear plastic (on top of the fretboard) is sanded smooth and to match the radius of the fretboard without dulling the color. The White pearloid pyramids (UV777BK, JEM7PBK) are synthetic perloid plastic.Lions Claw - this is the scooped out tremolo cavity and was named such for it's apperance that looks like a lion's claw carved out the cavity edge. It is the six scooped ridges on the front of the body by the fine tuners of the tremolo. This is cosmetic in nature as the standard routing allows its tremolo to be raised as well as lowered. It does not improve pull-up or tremolo usage on Ibanez guitars. Vai did this originally on his non-floating trem "green meanie" to allow for pullup... the cosmetic feature was added to all JEMs but the functional feature was added to all Ibanez double-locking trem guitars made after 1987. The Lions Claw is featured on all JEMs but is not found on Universe guitars.

Miscellaneous Universe Notes Universe pickups - All Universe guitars feature the DiMarzio Blaze-II pickups. There is no Blaze-I pickup. Often in literature, it is simply called the "Blaze" with no distinction between the neck and bridge models. This is referenced to the DiMarzio "Steve's Special" 6-string pickup as the tonal charts are quite similar to the Blaze-IIPickup Model & Number Output Treb Mid Bass DC-Resistance Blaze-II Neck (DP700) 280mv 6 4 6 15.80KBlaze-II Bridge (DP702) 380mv 6 3 7 20.75KSteve's Special (DP161&161F) 390mv 7 4 7 17.89K UV String Gauges - Universe guitars ship with string gauges .009 .011 .016 .024 .032 .042 .053, which is similar to a standard .009-.042 set with an additional .053 for the Low B-string.Scalloped Frets - No Universe has scalloped frets 21-24.Development Time - The Universe took two and a half years from conception to completion Parts development for the Universe took 18 months. The original black UV that Vai photographed with has "JEM" written on the headstock instead of "Universe". This UV was used in promo photos for a guitar magzine contest & Vai was shown with it often. All shipping UVs have "Universe" on the headstock.Universe Tremolos - There are some Universes out there with the old style Ibanez "Edge" tremolo systems. They're the 7-string versions of the Edge tremolo you'd find on a JEM built thru 1990. All other UVs feature the LoPro Edge7. No Monkey Grip on the UV- The Universe Guitar was never intended to be produced with the Monkey Grip that was featured on the JEM line. The confusion was created by speculation about the UV77MC from the Passion and Warfare Album (with no monkey grip) and many photos from Guitar Magazines with the same guitar showing a monkey grip. The Passion and Warfare photo was retouched to "airbrush out" the "Monkey Grip" since the production models (and that actual guitar) were slated to be WITHOUT the Monkey Grip. The following info is from Darren at ATD (who did the swirl) who posted on the Jemsite Forum to clarify the issue.By DARREN JOHANSEN (Atddmi) on Wednesday, November 01, 2000 - 12:31 pm: Well you are all kinda right. The handle was not supposed to be there. The guitar was sent to me [to swirl] but not before going through someone else's hands [ed note - this was Joe D from LI, NY who could not keep his annoying "PAW's off the axe] and they felt it should have a monkey grip. This ended up delaying the project for several months. The [P&W Cover UV] one that had the monkey grip cut into it was the first universe ever to be swirled.By DARREN JOHANSEN (Atddmi) on Wednesday, November 01, 2000 - 01:17 pm:[to confirm] The monkey grip was never supposed to be on the Universe, since it was a new model with a new look. The guitar on the cover [of Passion & Warfare] was sytexed -if that's how you spell it - which is a computer color flow technique. The guitar was photographed so much before though [showing the actual Monkey Grip on the actual guitar even when the P&W cover showed the touch up without monkey grip].